Stop motion for knitting machines



- Sept. 21, 1943.

5. J. ZIOCK STOP MOTION FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Dec. 19; 1938 9Sheets-Sheet l m M 5 V. w

Sept. 21, 1943. E. J. z|o cK 2,329,971

STOP MOTION FOR KNITTING MACHINES Fil e d Dec. 19, 1938 9 Sheets-Sheet 5III/M" INVENTOR E. J. ZIOCK STOP MOTION FOR KNITTING MACHINES Sept. 21,1943.

Filed Dec. is, ess 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Sept. 21, 1943. E. J. zlocK2,329,971

STOP MOTION FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Dec. 19, 1938 9 Sheets-Sheet 5[,NVENTOR Sept. 21, 1943. E. J. ZIOCK ,9 7

' S'1 OP MOTION FOR KNITTING MACHINES I Filed Dec. 19, 1958 9Sheets-Sheet 6 INVEN TOR Sept 21, 1943. E. J; ZIOCK ,32

STOP MOTION FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Dec. 19, 1958 v 9 Sheets-Sheet'7 INVENTOR Sept. 21, 1943. E. J. ZIOCK STOP MOTION FOR KNITTINGMACBINES 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Dec. 19, 1938 E; J. ZIOCK 2,329,971 5Tb?mombn' FOR KNITTING mcnmEs Filed Dec. 19, 1938. 9 Sheets-Sheet 9Patented Sept. 21, 1943 2,329,971 STOP MOTION FOR KNITTING MACHINESEdward J. Ziock, Oakland, Calif. Application December 19, 1938, SerialNo. 246,574

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in stop motions forknitting machines and is herein disclosed as embodied in a circularspring needle knitting machine generally known as the sinker burr wheelmachine.

The primary object of the invention is to produce a novel and improvedyarn and fabric stop motion which will be sensitive and certain inoperation without at the same time imposing any appreciable burden onthe yarn or fabric.

Another object of the invention is to provide a yarn stop motionparticularly adapted for use in a machine of this type, which will actrapidly and efiiciently when thrown into operation to render theknitting elements inoperative and thereafter to stop the machine,

With these objects in view, the several features of the inventionconsist in the devices, combinations and arrangement of partshereinafter described and claimed, and together with the ad elevationtaken from the rear of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 13; Fig. 15 isa detailed plan view of the delayed switch utilized to supply currentduring the operation of the machine; Fig. 16 is a view in side elevationof the parts shown in Fig. '15; Fig. 17 is a detail view of the mercurydash pot utilized in giving a delayed movement to the switch; Fig. 18 isa plan view taken on the .line l8l8 of Fig. 1'7; Fig. 19 is a'view inelevation of the yarn feeler and drop wire mechanism;

Fig. 20 is a view in elevation taken from the side of the part shown inFig. 19; and Fig. 21

is a sectional view, in side elevation taken on the line 2l--2l of Fig.13.

The sinker burr wheel knitting machine which forms the preferredembodiment of the present invention, comprises a large circular springneedle machine provided with a number of yarn vantages to be obtainedthereby, will be readily understood by one skilled in the art from thefollowing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings. Only somuch of the machine is disclosed in the drawings as isnecessary to show the connection of the present invention therewith.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan view of a portion of a sinker burrwheel machine illustrating particularly one yarn feed with cooperatingknitting elements; Fig. 2 is a plan view on an enlarged scale of aportion of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1 showing particularly thesinker wheel and the device for severing the feeding yarn; Fig. 3 is aview in elevation taken from the rear of the mechanism illustrated inFig. 2; Fig. 4 is a detail view in elevation taken on the line 4-4 ofFig. 2; Fig. 5 is a plan view on an enlarged scale of the pressuremechanism illustrated in Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is an elevation taken from therear of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 5; Fig. '7 is a plan view-onan enlarged scale of a portion of the stop mechanism illustrated in Fig.1; Fig. 8 is a view in elevation taken from the rear of the mechanismillustrated in Fig. 7; Fig. 9

is a view in elevation taken from the side of the feeds which aredistributed at different points on the knitting ring. Loop wheels areutilized to direct the feeding yarn under the beards of the needles andthen up into the needle hooks, after which landing wheels operate toraise the old cloth toward the tip of the needle beards. At the sametime, the beards are closed by the action, of the presser so that thecontinued rotation of the landing wheel causes the old loops to be castoff over the ends of the needles. The new loops are then finished by oneor a number of finishing wheels. in the usual way.

Due to the high speed of operation attained with these machines and alsothe comparatively great weight of the moving parts, much difliculty hasbeen experienced in providing a yarn stop by means'of an electricallyactuated stop mechanism whichacts to sever the defective yarn and partsshown in Fig, '7; Fig. 10 is a detailed plan view illustratingparticularly a portion of the timing mechanism in operation; Fig. 11 isa similar view to Fig. 10 with the parts shown in position at the end ofthe movement; Fig. 12 is a sectional view in side elevation taken on theline l2--l2 of Fig.1; Fig. 13 is aplan view on an enlarged scale of thewhole detector mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1; Fig. 14 is a view inthen to move the presser out of contact with the needle beards toprevent the fabric from.

being cut oif of the needles from the point where the feeding yarn hasbeendiscont'inued. These parts are actuated in timed relation to therotation of the needle cylinder so that a short yarn end of fairlyconstant length i certain to be produced which will not interfere withthe following feeds or otherwise cause injury to the machine.

Owing to the fact that it is undesirable to permit the landing andsinkerwheels to run into the needles for any length of time when no fabric isbeing produced, mechanism is also provided which is thrown intooperation by the yarn stop I motion to. throw the machine starting andstopping switch into neutral position so that the Referring morespecifically to the drawings, a

portion of a grooved ring is indicated at 22 rigidly secured to ahorizontal plate 23 of the machine frame, and forms a mounting for theknitting and feeding elements cooperating with the spring beard needles24. The presser lever is indicated at 28, a sinker wheel of ordinaryconstruction at 28, and the yarn eye through which the yarn is fed tothe needles, at 30. The feeding yarn 32 passes from the supply through aknot-catching device 33 (see Figs. 1, 19, and vertically upward over atrip lever 34 to an eyelet 36, over the anvil plate 38 forthe yarnsevering hammer 40 and thence to the yarn eye 30.

The feeler mechanism for throwing the yarn stop motion into operation(see Figs. 19 and 20) comprises a yarn contact lever 42 which is mountedon a fixed pivot 44 and is normally held in a substantially verticalposition by the feeding yarn at a point between the trip lever 34 andthe knot-catching device 33 which may be conveniently located adjacentto the yarn supply; as indicated, the knot catcher 33 comprises agauging hole in a plate. In order to insure that no appreciable burdenis imposed on the yarn, the yarn contact lever 42 is provided with anumber of contact fingers 46 which cooperate with a series of fingers 48formed on a bracket rigidly mounted on the machine frame so that theyarn during the normal operation of the machine is fed between the twogroups of fingers. At its lower ,end the lever 42 is provided with ashort arm from which is suspended the contact wire 50 of a mercuryswitch 52, which for the vertical position of the lever 42 is out ofcontact with the mercury. But when the contact lever 42 is released andpermitted to fall forward, the contact wire 50 is depressed to close theswitch. The trip lever 34 is normally held in the position illustratedin full lines in Fig. 19 by contact with the tip of a bell crank lever54 which is pivotally' mounted at 58 on a bracket 58. The bell cranklever 54 is held in position to support the trip lever 34 by means of asmall tension spring 60 which is stretched between the free arm of thebell crank lever and a short lever arm 62 which is held ad- Justably inposition on a fixed pivot 64. The movement of the bell crank lever 54under the influenceof the spring 60 is limited by a stop 08 adjustablysecured by a pin and slot connection 68 to the machine frame. When thetension on the feeding yarn is unduly increased by the catching of adefective yarn in the knot catcher 33, the bell crank lever 54 willyield against the pressure of the spring 60, thus releasing the triplever 34 and allowing the yarn to slip out from between the two sets ofcontact fingers 48 and 48 to release the yarn contact lever 42 and soclose the switch 52 to energize a circuit for causing a cessation of themachine activities in a manner hereinafter described.

With this construction, a sufficient amount of slack is provided inthe-feeding yarn to insure the operation of the yarn severing devicebefore any injury to the machine can result from the catching of thefeeding yarn.

Where there is a break in the feeding yarn, the release of the yarncontact lever 42 acts equally to throw the yarn stop motion intooperation and causes the presser to be thrown out of operation beforethe fabric is cast off from the needles.

The mechanism for actuating the hammer to sever the yarn and forthrowing the presser out of active engagement with the needle beards isactuated in timed relation to the rotation of the needle cylinder andcomprises a disk 10 pivotally mounted at I2 'on a bracket I4 which ismounted to swing on a vertical stud I6 0n the machine frame. A tensionspring I8 stretched between a point on the bracket I4 and an arm rigidlysecured to the stud I6 holds the disk yieldingly in engagement with theneedles, so that the disk 10 is given a continuous rotary movement intimed relation to the movement of the needle cylinder. A cam disk 82 isloosely mounted on the pivot I2 and may be operatively connected to movewith the disk I0 by the engagement of a pawl lever 84 pivotally mountedon the lower disk 82 with ratchet teeth 86 rigidly secured to the disk10. During the normal operation of the machine, the cam disk 82 remainsin a stationary position, the pawl lever 84 being held out of contactwith the ratchet teeth against the pressure of a tension spring 88 bythe engagement of the hooked end of a locking lever 90 mounted on thefixed pivot 92 with corresponding projection formed on the pawl lever84. The lever 90 is normally held in looking position with its free endout of contact with an electromagnet 94 by means of a tension spring 86stretched between a point on the lever and a point 98 rigid with themachine frame. When the electric circuit-including the magnet is closedby the action of the feeler mechanism upon discovery of a flaw in theyarn, the end of the locking lever 90 is drawn towards the magnet, thusunlocking the pawl lever 84 and permitting it to swing under theinfiuence of its spring 88 into engagement with the ratchet teeth 86 tocause the disk 82 to rotate with the continuously rotating disk.10. Thedisk 82 is provided with two cam surfaces comprising a pin I00 and a camI02 which are adapted respectively to throw into operation the mechanismfor severing the yarn and for moving the presser lever out of engagementwith the needle beards.

When the disk 82 is rotated, the pin I00 comes into contact with andacts through the lever I04 mounted on the fixed pivot I06 and theintervening connections to trip the hammer 40 illustrated in Figs. 2 and3 to sever the thread. The lever I04 is connected at its lower endthrough a link IIO to the lower end of the latch lever H2 which isloosely mounted to turn on a pivot H4. The upper end of the latch leverH2 is provided with a notch II6 which is normally held in engagementwith a pin II8 on the hammer 40 by the action of a spring I20 coiledabout the pivot H4. The hammer is pivoted at I22 on a fixed bracket I24and is forced yieldingly in a direction to engage with the anvll 38 bymeans of a springl20 coiled about the pivot I22. The movement of thelever I04 and the link 0 causes the latch lever II2 to swing about itspivot to disengage the pin II8 from the notch H6 and permits the hammerto fall and sever the yarn.

In Order to prevent the yarn from jumping ahead when the tension isreleased by the severing operation and so interfering with the propercylinder, brings the the operation are at the positions illustrated inoperation of the sinker burr wheel 28 in feeding the yarn to theneedles, 9. yarn take-up has been provided in the form of a drop wiremember I21 hinged on a fixed portion of the machine and adapted toengage the feeding yarn against a plate I28 at a point adjacent to theyarn eye. As shown in Figure 2, the plate I28 is provided on an elementI29 mounted on the anvil plate 88,:

and has its upper face in alignment with the tensed yarn adjacent theeye 38. The member I21 is intermediately hinged to the element I28 Fig.11. Before setting up the machine, the operator must again return thedisk 82 manually to its original position illustrated in Fig. ,7.

Mechanism is also provided which is thrown into operation by the closingof the switch 52 in the operation of the yarn stop motion as abovedescribed and acts to return the starting and stopping lever, orhand-shipper I58 of the ma-' chine to neutral position to stop themachine. This mechanism (Figures 1 and 13 and 14) comprises a magnet I68which is rendered active by the arm of the loop I3l for adjusting thegravity pull of the member I21 transversely against the yarn and theresulting degree of friction. The other end of the member I21 isarrangedto en'- gage the under side of the plate 38 as a stop means toso limit the lowering of the loop when the yarn is broken or cut as toprovide .a U bend in the yarn to frictionally restore the originaltension of the yarn for its continued feeding to the knitting mechanism.v

The continued rotation of the disk 82 set in motion by the mechanism fordetecting flaws in the yarn now causes the presser lever 26 to be thrownout of operation in timed relation to the rotation of the needlecylinder to prevent the fabric from being cast oi! of'the needles afterthe short end of the severed yarn has been used up. The cam .I82 carriedon the-disk 82 engages, with one arm of a bell crank lever I38 mountedon the fixed pivot I86, which acts through the connecting link I82secured to the free end of the bell crank I38 to release the latch leverI34 loosely mounted on the fixed pivot I38. The presser lever is mountedto turn on a fixed pivot I38 and is held in engagement with the needlebeards by means of a hand lever on the pivot I43 justable screw I44 andcarries at one end an adadapted to bear against the presser lever 26.The latch lever I34 is adapted swings about'its pivot I48 and permitsthe spring pressed lever I58 to rotate about the pivot I43 a quarterturn into engagement with the hand lever I42, causing it to turn on itspivot and permitting the presser 26 to positioniliustrated in dottedlines in Fig. 5.

The continued rotation of the disk 82 for caus ing the yarn to besevered and the presser to be withdrawn from contact with the needlebeards in timed relation to the rotation of the needle pawl= lever 86into contact with a stationary cam I56 to disconnect the pawl lever fromthe ratchet teeth 86 and stops the rotation of the disk 52. The parts'atthis point inv be withdrawn into the to a gradual stop as frictionovercomes the inertia of its moving parts.

I42 which is mounted to turn (ill the closing of the switch 52 torelease a latch lever I82 which is loosely mounted on a fixed pivot I64and is held normally in open position during the operation of themachine. The latch lever I62 is adapted to vhold a locking lever I66pivotally mounted at I18 in position to lock the lever I12 againstmovement about its pivot I14 under the' pressure of a pring I18. whenthe latch lever I62 is actuated by the closing of the electric switch52, the locking lever' I66 is permitted. to

swing back to release the spring pressed lever I12 which swings aboutits pivot I14 and strikes".

the lever I18which is loosely mounted on the pivot I14 and actsthroughthe connecting rod, I88 to release the latch I82, thus permitting thereturn of the hand-shipper member I56 to its neutral position which isindicated in dash lines in Figures 1 and 16. The machine will'now comeInorder to prevent injury to the magnets from the heavy current used inoperating the yarn stop mechanism, mechanism is provided for breakingthe circuit upon stopping the machine. A delayed-switch is provided forthis purpose which is thrown into operation in returning the shipperlever I58 to a neutral position but which does not operate to break thecircuit until after the machine has finally come to a stop, so thatcurrent is at all times available to operate the yarn stop motions onthe remaining active feeding yarns if necessary while the machine isslowing down. This mechanism comprises aswitch bar I84 pivotally mountedat I88 and having secured at one end the contact wire I88 of the mercuryswitch I38 and at its other end a weight I82, said switch beingconnected in series with the circuit of .the switch 58-52 and theelectro magnets 94 and I68. During the operation of the machine, theswitch bar I84 is held in position with the mercury switch I68 closedand the weight I82 .in raised position by the contact of the startingand stoppinglever I58 with a bent portion of the switch bar I84. whenthe starting and stopping lever I58 is returned to neutral position, theswitch bar- I84 is permitted to-move about its pivot I86 under theinfluence of the weight I82 to throw out the switch I86. A delayedmovement is given to the switch bar I84 by means of a mercury dash potI84 which comprises a plunger I88 secured at one end to the switch barI84 and provided at its other end with a piston head I88 which isloosely fitted within the dash-pot cylinder I94. A series of holes arepunched in the'piston head to permit the piston to be raisedcomparatively rapidly when the starting and stopping lever I58 isthrowninto operating position. During the downward movea plates 202.

provision of a novel and improved fabric hole stop motion which will actupon detecting holes or imperfections in the cloth to prevent furtherrotation or knitting of the machine. As usually constructed, fabric stopmotions are provided with a single feeler which has been found subjectto certain disadvantages. When the feeler is cperated at a pressurewhich will insure the detection of flaws in the fabric, itwill oftenenter enlarged knitted loops as well as the holes caused by imperfectyarns and dropped stitchesfor which it was intended the machine shouldstop. Furthermore, the concentration of the pressure at; one point tendsto roughen and otherwise injure the fabric. In order to provide a holedetecting mechanism which will be sufflciently sensitive to detectimperfections and holes and will at the same time operate with a minimumof strain on the fabric without roughening or abrading the surface, thefeeler arm is provided with a number of feeler fingers to bear againstthe fabric and so to distribute the pressure necessary for the properoperation of the device.

The fabric hole stopmotion as illustrated in Figs. 1, 13, 14 and 21,consists of a, fabric contact lever 200 to which are secured the smallfeeler Two plates only are shown in the illustrated machine but it isevident that the number and size of the plates may be varied inaccordance with the gage and type of knitting being produced. The fabriccontact lever 200 is pivotally mounted at 204 on a lever arm 206 whichis adjustably secured by means of pin and slot connections 208 to aswivel plate 2| 0, so that the system of levers 20D and'206 can be movedtowards or away from the fabric. The swivel plate 2H1 is rotatablymounted on a pivot 212 about which is coiled a spring 2l4 which tends toswing the swivel plate 2|0 and the lever 206 into operative position.The small feeler plates 2020f the fabric contact lever 200 are heldyieldingly in contact with the fabric by means of a small tension spring2 l5 connected at one end to a rearwardly extending portion of the yarncontact lever 200 and at its other end to an arm 2l8 rigidly secured onthe lever 206. When a defect is encountered in the fabric, the feelerplates 202 will move forward and be caught in the hole causing the lever208 and the swivel plate 2l0 to rotate about the pivot 2| 2 into thedotted position illustrated in Fig. 13, when the feeler plates 202 willagain disengage themselves from the fabric. This movement of the swivelplate 2 l 0 causes a light spring finger 220 mounted on a projecting arm222 to move into contact with and disengage the latch lever I62 to throwthe machine stop motion as above described.

Mechanism is also provided which operates to disengage the latch leverI62 and stop the machine in case the fabric becomes too slack throughthe failure of the fabric take-up commonly supplied in machines of thistype, to function properly. This mechanism comprises a shoe 226 which issecured to the end of a shaft 228 mounted for endwise movement on thebracket 230 and is pressed yieldingly into engagement with fabric bymeans of a compression spring 232 coiled about the shaft 228 between acollar 234 and a fixed bracket 236. The shaft 228 is provided at itsrear end with a hook portion 238 which is adapted to engage a projectionon the latch lever I62. When the fabric becomes too loose, the shoe 226and the shaft 228 will be permitted to move forward under the influenceof the spring 232 causing the hook portion 238 to release the latchlever I62, thus throwing into operation the mechanism for returning thestarting and stopping lever I58 to neutral position to stop the machine.

The invention having been described, what is claimed is: a

1. In a knitting machine the combination of knitting elements and a yarnstop motion comprising a yarn contact lever normally supported by thefeed yarn, means rendered operative by the fall cf the lever to severthe yarn, and a friction means thereafter automatically operative uponthe severed yarn portion between the yarn severing means and. theknitting elements to provide and maintain a normal feeding tension onsaid yarn portion. I

2. In a knitting machine the combination with knitting elements of ayarn stop motion comprising a yarn contact lever normally supported bythe feeding yarn, means rendered operative by the fall of the lever tosever the yarn, means operative upon the yarn between the knittingelements and the yarn severing means for feeding yarn to the knittingelements, and a friction means operative against the yarn between theyarn feeding means and the yarn severing means to maintain a normalfeeding tension on the yarn end afterthe yarn is severed.

EDWARD J. ZIOCK.

